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THE LEVISON LETTER
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Action Ideas For Better Direct Mail,
E-mail, Web Sites & Advertising
Published by
Ivan Levison, Direct Response Copywriting
Volume: 14 Number: 4
April, 1999
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The key to writing a high-impact home page
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"You
never get a second chance to make a first impression."
This catchy
old advice, offered to generations of eager job seekers,
is certainly still valid in cyberspace.
You see,
your home page is the place where you make that crucial
first impression on a Web site visitor, and it's vitally important
that you have a smile on your face when you first say hello.
What should
an effective home page do?
First of
all, I believe it should welcome the visitor.
This may sound obvious, but many home pages are cold as ice. Let
me give you an example . . .
When you
visit FileMaker's Web site (www.filemaker.com), you're
greeted with the in-your-face question, "What's your problem?"
Just below the line is the business card of Sam Behrend, Brewmaster
for Bauer Brewing company.
In other
words, they start right out with a teaser that links to a
mini-application story featuring a Generation Xer. This, I believe
is all wrong.
Forgive
me if it's corny, but my advice is to warmly welcome the
visitor to the Web site and provide a quick overview of what the
company and its products have to offer.
Sometimes
(often!) simple, unclever, and unhip is best.
The other key function of the home page is to structure information
so that it is easily found by the visitor. I have visited literally
hundreds of software Web sites and have discovered that many of
them provide way too little information.
Let me give
you an example.
Take a look
at Logitech's home page (www.logitech.com). It is clean,
but sterile. This terminal minimalism is unwelcoming in the extreme
and I am sure it puts visitors off.
I don't
see any reason to keep things so spare. Some companies
have lots of information to communicate but manage to keep
their home pages neat and attractive.
Family Tree
Maker (www.familytreemaker.com) does a heck of a
job. Their home page is extremely inviting, and though there are
many links, everything is clear and well structured.
One of the
neat things you can do right on the Family Tree Maker
home page is search for the origins of your own name. This is a real
grabber and gets the visitor involved immediately with the very
essence of the product in a very personal way. A wonderful idea for
their home page!
Another
terrific site to check out is Symantec (www. symantec.
com/us.index.html). The warm colors they use create a mellow
feeling and you feel oriented and in control right from the start.
I love the way they put their "Search" field right up at
the top.
They make it super-easy to find just what you're looking for. If
you want to take a look at a model of organization, check out
the copywriting of the Symantec home page!
Microsoft
(www.microsoft.com), everybody's favorite company,
also gets just about everything right. Though the site is a bit
unwelcoming, they do a fabulous job of organizing tons of
information.
When you
consider how much material Microsoft has to deal with,
and how deftly and effortlessly they handle it all on their home page,
you can't help but be impressed.
What's the
takeaway message this month?
That when
it comes to creating a quick, positive first impression on
a visitor to your Web site, there's no place like home.
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About Ivan Levison
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I'm a freelance
direct response copywriter who works for high
technology companies like Adobe, Apple, Claris, Hewlett-Packard,
Intuit, Intel, Microsoft, Netscape, and many others. (Terrific small
companies too!) I write direct response sales letters, e-mail letters,
Web pages, and ads.
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How To Get In Touch
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Ivan Levison
Direct Response Copywriting
14 Los Cerros Drive
Greenbrae, CA 94904
Phone: (415) 461-0672
Fax: (415) 461-7738
E-mail: ivan@levison.com
Web Site: http://www.levison.com
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Copyright 1999, by Ivan Levison, All Rights Reserved.
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